Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms ripped through Mississippi on Wednesday night, damaging more than 1,000 buildings, toppling trees, closing dozens of roads and injuring at least 17 people, state officials said.
The damage was reported after the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for several cities and counties across the state. At one point the agency issued a “particularly dangerous situation” designation — a term it uses only when the strongest tornadoes are possible — for Franklin and Adams Counties in the state’s southwest.
As many as 815 buildings were damaged in Franklin and Lincoln Counties, and the storm left debris and fallen power lines across some roads, Scott Simmons, a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, told 16 WAPT News on Wednesday.
In Lincoln County, debris prompted transportation officials to shut down southbound lanes on part of Interstate 55 for several hours, according to the state’s Transportation Department.
And in Lamar County — around 100 miles southeast of Jackson, the state capital — a tornado had damaged around 250 buildings, including a church, and injured four people as of 11 p.m., according to James Smith, the county director for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. One person was hospitalized to receive stitches, but all of the injuries were minor, Mr. Smith said in a phone interview.
Several people called emergency services for rescue after trees fell on their homes and trapped them under debris, but they freed themselves before responders arrived, Mr. Smith said, adding that the worst of the tornado seemed to be over.
At least 30 roads in Lamar County were closed as of Thursday morning because of debris, according to Gov. Tate Reeves.
At least 14 tornadoes had been reported since late Wednesday night, most of which were in the southwest of the state, where at least 17,000 customers were experiencing power outages early Thursday morning, according to PowerOutage.com.
Before 1 a.m. local time, a severe thunderstorm was moving east at 40 miles per hour and hail the size of nickels was falling across Perry and Greene Counties, according to the Weather Service.
Overnight, the storm system made its way into Alabama. The state’s Emergency Management Agency said the state could expect possible heavy rainfall, large hail and a few tornadoes through early Thursday.
Thursday is expected to be a calmer day. Forecasters at the Storm Prediction Center said the greatest risk for severe storms was expected across southeast Alabama, portions of southern Georgia and northern Florida, especially earlier in the day. Those storms could produce damaging wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour, isolated hail and possibly a couple of tornadoes, the forecasters said. A tornado watch, which means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, was put in effect until 10 a.m. Thursday.
